Lonnie Liston Smith entered the 1980s with
Love Is the Answer, which is quite similar to previous Columbia efforts like Exotic Mysteries and Song for the Children. Jazz's hard-liners continued to call
Smith a sellout; as they saw it, a musician who was talented enough to have been employed by the likes of
Pharoah Sanders,
Betty Carter, and
Rahsaan Roland Kirk had no business becoming more commercial and catering to the quiet storm audience. But while
Love Is the Answer isn't as challenging as
Smith's work with Kirk and
Sanders and isn't in a class with such Flying Dutchman gems as Astral Traveling and Expansions, it isn't a bad album either. "The Enchantress," "Bridge Through Time" (which female rap group the Conscious Daughters sampled on their 1993 recording "We Roll Deep"), "In the Park," and other instrumentals on this LP aren't brilliant, but they're pleasant and likable.
Love Is the Answer was the second
Smith album to employ vocalist James "Crabbe" Robinson, who had replaced
Donald Smith and is featured on the mellow title song as well as the funkier selections "Speak About It" and "Give Peace a Chance (Make Love Not War)." The charismatic
Donald Smith was a tough act to follow, but Robinson handled himself nicely when he was a member of the Cosmic Echoes. While
Love Is the Answer isn't among the pianist/keyboardist's essential releases, it isn't anything to be ashamed of either. ~ Alex Henderson